The present invention relates to power converter control, and more specifically to processes, machines, and manufactures, directed to managing, adjusting, or otherwise influencing power converter bus voltages or currents and AC output waveforms.
The relationship between AC voltages and currents is load dependent. When there is no shift in waveform timing between an AC voltage and the related AC current the phase shift is said to be zero. When there is a shift in waveform timing between an AC voltage and the related AC current the phase shift can be represented in terms of positive or negative degrees where the degrees are indicative of the amount of difference in timing.
When no system phase shift is measured, e.g., a 0° system phase shift, it is as if the current is passing through a simple resistor and the system is said to be at a unity power factor. When a phase shift other than 0° is measured, there is a shift in waveform timing between the voltage and related current. This shift in waveform timing is indicative of a “leading” or “lagging” relationship and is as if the current is passing through a capacitor or inductor. The degree of phase shift relates to the amount of real and reactive power that flows and these leading and lagging effects serve to affect how much generated power needs to be sent to a load to power it. Simply stated, phase angle of an AC waveform refers to the amount of lag or lead between the voltage and current of that AC waveform.
Phase angle may be a design consideration of power converters that act to convert power from one state to another. This conversion may include stepping up voltages from a DC input to a DC output, converting DC power to AC power and modifying AC waveforms. These conversions may be performed in stages, where an input DC voltage is stepped up to a higher voltage in a first stage, converted to an AC waveform in a second stage, and further modified into a different AC waveform in a third stage. Converters may partially or fully isolate these stages from one another to minimize the risk of damage from spikes or other electrical transients. The stages may be isolated, at least in part, through the use of capacitive buses positioned in parallel between the stages. Other isolation techniques may be used as well.
Power inverters may be used to convert DC from a relatively low voltage or low power DC source into an AC waveform for use on the public power grid. In so doing, power from the DC source may be applied to the AC grid for use apart from the DC source and the operator of the DC power source may be compensated for power contributions to the grid.
Phase angle of an AC waveform may be considered when determining how much work can be powered by the waveform. Power factor considers the real and reactive power available to a load being driven by an AC power system. Real (or active) power is consumed by the load in order to perform work. Reactive power, comparatively, reciprocates in the circuit and is ultimately returned to the AC power source.
Reactive power is not available for other loads when it is reciprocating in the circuit. As a result high reactive power reciprocation is not favored. Reactive power reciprocation may be created by LC circuits and RC circuits that disturb the phase relationship of voltage and current. The characteristics of a non-linear load may also act to distort the waveform of an AC power form, thereby distorting the signal and resulting in additional power being drawn and subsequently released. Other circuit properties may impose reactive power inefficiencies as well.
Power factor is measured as a unitless ratio from between zero and one, with active power being divided by apparent power. When a large amount of reactive power relative to real power consumed is received, reciprocates, and is later released back to the power grid, the power factor may be considered to be low. Conversely, when a small amount of reactive power relative to real power consumed is received, reciprocates, and is later released back to the power grid the power factor may be considered to be high. The closer the power factor of a circuit is to one, the less additional power need be supplied to the circuit as loads are driven by the circuit. The further the power factor of a circuit is from one, the more cumulative real and reactive power need to be supplied to the circuit. This increased reactive power is disfavored as the reactive power is unavailable for other uses when it is reciprocating in the circuit. Also, the reciprocating reactive power can contribute to current losses from heat or other imperfections in the circuit.
When no energy is stored in a load and the resistance of the load is linear, the relationship between current and voltage will be in step so the power factor will be one. Comparatively, when the load stores energy that is returned to the source or the load is nonlinear, the apparent power delivered by the source will be greater than the current used for powering the load so the power factor will be less than one.
In sum, power factor may be considered to be a dimensionless ratio that varies from zero to one, may be expressed as a percentage, and may be numerically reflected by (a) the ability of the circuit to perform work at a given time (b) divided by the RMS voltage×RMS current of the circuit. A power factor of zero indicates that the energy flow is entirely reactive. Comparatively, when the power factor is one there is no reactive power in the circuit.
Power factor may also provide for computation of known relationships in certain waveforms. For example, when the power waveform is a perfect sinusoid, the sum of the squares of the reactive power (Q) and the real power (P) may be equal to the square of the apparent power (S).Q2+P2=S2  (1.1)And, the absolute value of the cosine of the angle (φ) of difference between the current and voltage may be multiplied by the apparent power to determine the real power (P).|P|=|S∥cos φ|  (1.2)
Embodiments provided herein are directed to, among other things, processes, machines, and manufactures, regarding converter bus regulation or control and AC waveform phase angle control. The regulation of bus voltages or current and the monitoring, consideration, adjustment, detection, or management of power and power factor for power converters may be included. Other embodiments are plausible as well.